Monstrosity – The Passage of Existence

By Patrick Saulnier

Metal Blade Records

After 11 years away from the scene, Monstrosity obviously wanted to come back strong and hard, and they waste no time cranking up the distortion and blasting away. There’s no intro, no acoustics and absolutely no nonsense — just straight to the point death metal. The Passage of Existence is perfect for fans of ‘90s Deicide, Immortal and even some early Decapitated.

While there are some melodic moments and plenty of dynamics, the main drive of The Passage of Existence is bludgeoning, thrashy and brutal heaviness with a steady dose of groove.

While stating how horribly cliché it is to say ‘Play it Loud,’ drummer Lee Harrison says that the Florida five-piece made this album for doing just that. The riffs are windmill worthy, the double kick assault never gives your subs a breath and the vocals, although not as diverse as some, are kick ass and relentless. Adding tracks “Dark Matter Invocation” and “Radiated” to your playlist will leave no regrets, but maybe a little whiplash.